Foster's boys cross country runner of the year: C-B’s Brassard rose to the top of the N.H. running world

Tuesday

Jan 8, 2013 at 3:15 AM

By Mike Whaleymwhaley@fosters.com

NORTHWOOD — Jeremy Brassard had already won the Division II boys cross country championship a week earlier, and here he was in the Meet of Champions in Nashua with 100 yards to go in a neck-and-neck battle with Bedford’s Sam Daly.

“I didn’t even know it was him until I looked over,” Brassard said. “Neck and neck the last 100, which was a thrill, too. That’s my favorite kind of race. When everyone’s tired and you’ve got to push through and see what you can do.”

Brassard, a junior, found that extra reserve and beat Daly to the tape by three seconds in 15 minutes, 46.1 seconds.

It was the first MOC title by a Coe-Brown runner, coming on the heels of the D-II championships. There, Brassard and Hannah Parker won their respective D-II crowns, the first ever won at that level individually by the Bears. Brassard went on to finish 19th at the New England championship in Cumberland, Maine, and was a clear choice as Foster’s boys cross country runner of the year.

“I almost didn’t do it,” Brassard said of the MOC race. “There’s a little knoll (just before the final straightaway) and I couldn’t catch my breath. (Daly) started pulling away. I realized I couldn’t let it end like that. So I gave it a little bit more and it was just enough.”

Just enough to step into the Coe-Brown history books.

“The goal was pretty realistic,” said co-coach Tim Cox. “He’d had a great track season also, so the circles were similar.”

“The (D-II) we expected him to win it,” added co-coach Brent Tkaczyk. “That was something we went after and it seemed quite achievable. The Meet of Champions was more up for grabs. That was something that came down to a gut check. When it came down to a final kick, we all knew who was going to win.”

Brassard did not enter the 2012 cross country season as an unknown. In 2011, he had run fifth at the D-II championship and was sixth at the MOC, the highest placing underclassman.

He knew that coming into 2012, he was in a good place. A place made better by his hard work over the summer. He worked as a camp counselor in the Lakes Region, getting up as early as 5 in the morning to get his running in.

“He was in shape. He was doing the work,” Tkaczyk said.

“He filled out,” Cox added. “He was just a much stronger more enhanced version of himself.”

Brassard’s summer away had improved and matured him to the point that Cox felt he would be set up really well going into the 2012 season.

Brassard said he did more lifting and core training, which added strength.

“Obviously, I had a lot more experience,” added Brassard. “That paid off in a lot of races.”

Like the D-II race at Derryfield Park in Manchester, one of Brassard’s favorite courses. He won the title in 16:08, four seconds ahead of Hanover’s Noah Willliams.

“I took the lead, but those guys chased me the whole way across the field,” he said. “No one is going to give up. Once it gets hard and goes downhill it gets even harder. It doesn’t matter how much talent you have, it’s who does what at the end.”

With two N.H. titles under his belt, Brassard ran in the New Englands in Maine, and ended up, to him, a disappointing 19th — still the top N.H. finisher.

“I went out so hard, thinking I could stay with the leaders,” he said. “I didn’t realize they had a different strategy. I thought I could hit it hard and hang out with them. They were a lot stronger than me.”

Both of his coaches felt he ran very well, given he ran without a teammate, knew little of the opposing runners and the course was wet and muddy. The experience will also serve as motivation for this fall.

“It’s not easy to work as hard as he did and hang on for the full 5K in those kinds of conditions,” Cox said, “when you’re not used to five, 10 or 12 kids passing you over the course. He stayed mentally tough.”

“The competition was tougher than he had ever seen before,” Tkaczyk said. “So that was a great experience for him. He’s pretty excited that the (2013) New Englands are in Manchester.”

“He’s going to have that experience (from the New Englands) to hold with him in every race,” Cox said. “He’s going to be thinking about preparing himself for that level of competition.”

Looking ahead, Brassard is already focusing some thought toward the cross country season.

“Obviously, New Hampshire is very important,” Brassard said. “And that’s what we’re going to focus on. I just have to get strong enough so maybe I can hold peak a little longer.”

“It’s going to take a lot time, dedication and good decisions on his part,” Tkaczyk said.